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Waiting For A Kings Return
 Tucking Junior in
after their afternoon in the gardens left Drifa impossibly sad.
Making sure he was snug, sleeping soundly she walked to the tell
windows, sitting on the ledge, beginning to swipe at the tears that
silently fell. When Scorpius had left she had managed to lock down
the tears, because she knew she would only be a distraction to him,
and the mission at hand. He had to find the people who had pillaged
his home and killed his daughter. And she had promised to care for
his son, urging him to come home in one piece so they could finally
be married and make up for the years lost to them.
Still her control
only lasted as long as Junior was awake. He was still on the mend and
she tended to him in her mothers home, both of them anxious for word
from his father. Once the healers had given her the OK to move him
around a bit she used a wheel chair to give him a tour of her
family’s new home, introduced him to her Mother and Step-Father,
her sisters and new brothers. It was a good distraction for him in
missing his twin and waiting for his fathers return.
Their rooms adjoined
at her request and at night she would wake to his cries, waking him
from harsh dreams or just hugging him until he fell sleep depending
on the evening. And once the sun rose she would find ways to distract
him. The gardens and exploring the castle, all while he rested in his
chair. She read to him and often times he would fall asleep leaned
against her arm or his head pillowed in her lap. She knew she was a
poor substitute for the family he lost and was waiting to return but
she tried daily to make him feel better, or as best as she could. 
The day Odins
Unworthy son attacked his brothers home Drifa had stayed with Junior,
him crying and curled in her lap until they were told it was safe to
come out. It didn’t help Juniors nightmares and Drifa worked doubly
to put him at ease so he could sleep soundly for more then a couple
of hours at a time. The house was in mourning at the loss of her step
brothers, but still she worked hard to help Junior through his fears.
That afternoon while they had been reading outside for son air for
him he had asked why they had no word from his father. 
“Well you know
this isn’t the first time he has had to go off and protect people.
Before you were born he had to do something similar. And I had to
wait a long while before we got any word on him. But you shouldn’t
worry. He was a hero then and he will come back a hero this time. He
told me before if he isn’t sending word that means he is close to
the bad people, and he cant sneak up on them if he sends word to the
outside world. So the sooner he catches up to them the sooner we can
see him again. It wont be to much longer,” she told him, pressing a
kiss to his hair before he told her he was tired.
Bundling him up she
took him back inside and helped him up into the tall bed. He then
asked her a question that shocked her. “What would happen to me if
Daddy goes with Mommy and my sister?” Drifa hadn’t expected him
to ask so she sat beside him and answered as candidly as she could.
“I don’t think anything will happen to him. He will be home soon.
But even so you wouldn’t be alone. You have me, and your Grandpa
and Clytemnestra and your uncle and aunt. I lost my dad when I was
about your age. And even now I know he looks over me and protects me.
Just like your mother and sister do. But you will have a long long
time still with your dad because he is coming back safely.”
Drifa brushed his
hair back from his face and hummed to him until his medicine helped
him off to sleep. And after tucking him into bed she sat in the room
with him in case he woke, silently crying. Her forehead pressed to
the glass she watched the quiet scenery outside the window. Tough she
only ever spoke confidently to Junior everyday that passed without
Scorpius only made her more and more fearful that he wouldn’t
return to them. There was this intense ache in her chest and a
hollowness in her belly when she thought of it but still she couldn’t
shake her fears. She didn’t know how to find him, or if seeking him
out would put him in harms way but every second longer without her
only made her more worried she would never see him again, that he
might miss out on his growing family. 
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